"This is crazy that the club's even being allowed to be opened at all because it's terrible for the community."

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – After reversing the city Planning Commission’s denial of a plan to reopen Club Tequila, the Grand Rapids Board of Zoning Appeals now has put some tight controls on the business.

Among them: The night club planned at South Division Avenue and Delaware Street SE must close by midnight.

“I think that will make a huge difference,” neighboring property owner Emily VanEffen said, according to a city transcript of a June hearing. “I personally have seen the police called all the time on the weekends when they’re open, late night.

“It’s a residential area. This is crazy that the club’s even being allowed to be opened at all because it’s terrible for the community. Everybody in our community is scared. If you lived next door to this club you would not like it either. It’s not good for our neighborhood and I’m very disappointed in the decision that was made (to let it open).”

Roosevelt Tillman operated Club Tequila at 932 S. Division for several years before moving it to 725 S. Division Ave. a couple years ago. The space at 725 S. Division is now boarded up, and he wants to open a club with “exciting, romantic and energetic music from Mexico” at the 932 S. Division site.

City approval is needed to reopen the club, and the Grand Rapids Planning Commission in April unanimously opposed the idea due to concerns about public safety and parking. Commissioners also stated that a high-traffic business like a night club is not a good fit for the stretch of Division where the city hopes the new Silver Line bus route will foster more residential development.

In May, the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals voted 5-2 to overturn the Planning Commission, saying there was not enough evidence that the proposed night club would be bad for the area. But the board reserved the right to impose certain conditions on the club’s operations.

Tillman proposed club hours from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday through Sunday. But, citing concerns about early-morning violence, the zoning board in June ruled that the club could operate 5 p.m. to midnight Thursday through Saturday, and 5-9 p.m. Sunday.

Tillman’s attorney, Ken Hoogeboom, declined to comment on the matter. He told the zoning board that a reduction in hours could compromise the club’s profitability and hamper its ability to keep the property in good repair.

Some of the other conditions:

• The club would be allowed to hold up to four special events per year, like political fundraisers, outside of the normal operating hours.

• The club could hold no more than 300 people at a time.

• The club must undertake soundproofing to minimize noise in the neighborhood.

• The club must repair the parking lot, may not permit any loitering in the parking lot and must submit a parking management and security plan to the police department.

• There shall be no sale of alcohol for off-site consumption. Even though the Class C liquor license that Tillman wants transferred to the site would come with a license to sell packaged booze, the club would not be able to sell take-out alcohol.

The liquor license transfer from 732 S. Division Ave. is pending. The Michigan Liquor Control Commission denied the transfer in April, then an appeal in May was tabled until 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 15.